[Track Info] [The Lyrics] [Explanation]
1. Album version (07:16)
2. Edited studio version (04:26)
3. Alternative studio version (07:16)
4. Remix version (07:11)
5. Live (London, England - "Hammersmith Odeon", April 18th '83) (06:49)
6. Live (Leicester, England - "De Montford Hall", March 5th 1984) (06:31)
7. Edited Live (Leicester, England - "De Montford Hall", March 5th 1984) (06:56)
Notes: The edited single version 2), compared to album
version 1), lacks the intro (first 37 seconds), the second strophe ("Edgy eggs and
queuing cumbers..."), the following first refrain ("Champagne corks are firing
at the sun..." and the strophe "Aperitifs consumed en masse..." (it resumes
with the verse "Doctor's son a parson's daughter..."; the central instumental
section is shorter (it lacks the last 8 bars); the verse "I'm fucking" is
replaced with "I'm miming". 3) is equal to 1), except for the verse
"I’m fucking", replaced in 3) with "I’m miming". The remix
version 4) is only slightly different from 1) (several small effects). All live versions
follow studio album version. In 5) Fish sings by mistake the third strophe
("Aperitifs consumed en masse...") instead of the second ("Edgy eggs and
queuing cumbers..."): so the third strophe is repeated twice. 6) is joined to Market
Square Heroes (which comes after). 7) is the same as 6), but edited to have an abrupt
finale (The last part, 20 seconds of Market Square Heroes of "Real To Reel"
after "Montford goodbye" plus 5 seconds of applause at the start makes it look
longer than the "Real To Real" version).
Lyrics by Derek William Dick (Fish)
Preformed Live for the First Time: 14-Mar-81
Published by Marillion Music, Charisma Music Publishing Co. Ltd..
Garden party held today, invites call the debs to
play, Social climbers polish ladders,
Wayward sons again have fathers, "Hello, dad!", "Hello, dad!"
Edgy eggs and queuing cumbers,
rudely wakened from their slumbers
time has come again for slaughter on the lawns by still "Cam" waters,
It's a slaughter, it's a slaughter
Champagne corks are firing at the sun again
Swooping swallows chased by violins again
Straafed by Strauss they sulk in crumbling eaves again, Oh God not
again!
Aperitifs consumed en masse display their owners
on the grass
Couples loiter in the cloisters, social leeches quoting Chaucer
Doctor's son a parson's daughter where why not and
should they oughta
Please don't lie upon the grass, unless accompanied by a fellow,
May I be so bold as to perhaps suggest Othello, perhaps suggest Othello
Punting on the Cam is jolly fun they say
Beagling on the downs, oh please do come they say
Rugger is the tops, a game for men they say, they say, good God they say
I'm punting, I'm beagling,
I'm wining, reclining
I'm rucking, I'm fucking1,
so welcome,
It's a party
Angie chalks another blue, mother smiles she did it
too
Chitters chat and gossips lash, posers pose, pressmen flash, flash, [flash]
Smiles polluted with false charm, locking on to Royal arms,
Society columns now ensured, returns to mingle with the crowds
Oh what a crowd
Oh, punting on the Cam, Oh please do come they say
Beagling on the downs, Oh please so come they say
Garden party held today they say, Oh please do come, Oh please do come, they say.
1) Replaced with "Miming" in the
studio version of the single release.
In the edited version the purple coloured parts are missing.
Copyright © 1997 Fraser Marshall, Matthew Anderson & Bert ter
Steege.
Fish (The Funny Farm Interview - July '95, Dick Bros) said: Diz and I moved down to Cambridge where I had a girl friend who was an archaeology student at the time. So we were actually living in this all female block down in Cambridge; I think it was Newlands College or something, having to sneak during the day through the windows because there were no males supposedly allowed in the college. Funnily enough that was the first place I ever painted my face; we got invited to this party so, seeing as how we were rock and roll people, we decided to be very outrageous. And we got all this Boots #7 stuff etc., I remember Diz did his face up like a cat, and I'd painted my face up as something. We gone down to this little party, and drunk this wonderful wine and being quite outrageous. And that period actually inspired the track Garden Party [...] We couldn't get the band started; we didn't have any money, so we just wandered about being very involved in the Cambridge student scene and punting and all that sort of stuff.
I’ve still included Torch’s stuff here, but I must say that his whole explanation is wrong as far as I’m concerned (Ed.).
Torch said: Okay, we know what "Garden Parties" are etc., but I feel the crucial point was overlooked on the FAQ, that here Fish is turning the whole thing into a gross and grotesque satire by caricaturing the occupants and making it be invaded by sexual escapades. . . the LAST thing one would see on such an occasion. Hence the dirty schoolboy puns of "please do come they say" etc.
A few other points to add to the FAQ comments. . . "Social climbers polish ladders" because the device they use to climb, e.g. soukie (sic. - Ed) conversation and crawling flattery they are brushing up on, but also they are perhaps washing their penises like medals before the orgy begins. . . ladders. . . ?
"Wayward sons again have fathers" - How's yer father. . . ? (an English slang euphemism for having sex. Ed) or just that this is the day their parents come to see them graduate so it's remembering your best behaviour.
Eggs and cumbers. . . yes yes yes. . . Crumbling eaves, a nice pun on eaves dropping. . . Chaucer mentioned again as in Cinderella Search. . . a writer greatly into cultured carousing.
The ultimate defeat of the classes Fish hates happens when they are caught on film shagging by "pressmen". "Society columns now ensured, Oh what a crowd!”
Maybe Fish was bitter because he went for an interview for Sandhurst and told the guy he was a pompous prick. . . they are the kind of folk he curiosities in GP.
Also the early bits of the song were penned when Fish was in Cambridge looking for a band with Diz Minnit as his girlfriend was a student there. . . it may have been Kayleigh. (it wasn’t. - Ed) He spent most of the time sleeping on floors and pretending to be a student. . . jealousy?
Marvellous song, whatever, and very imaginative, typically Fish-bitterness!
‘debs’
Contraction of ‘Debutante’. Geoff Parks said: `Deb' is
short for debutante. By tradition, the daughters of the `ruling class' in Britain are
presented at court (i. e. , introduced to the king or queen) when they reach the age of 18
- they make their debut in social circles, hence the term `debutante'. Over the summer
which following this these debutantes attend all the `essential' social events and each
host a `coming out' party. The object of all this is to find a husband. It is all a very
elaborate mating ritual! By extrapolation, the term deb is applied to any girl from the
upper classes whose main purpose in life seems to be to find a rich (or potentially rich)
husband. There are lots of these at Cambridge! (Taken from Jeroen Schipper’s
FAQ on the Web Online)
Sarah Lanel said: It's a practice which still continues amongst the British upper class, although not as widespread as it was say 20 years ago.
‘queuing’
Glen Seymour: Some Americans might not get the reference to
"queuing cumbers." Althought the phrase "queuing" is quite common in
Britain, US citizens would say "lining up."
‘cumbers’
Geoff Parks said: `Cumber' is short for cucumber (the salad
vegetable). Two of the most common delicacies at garden parties are cucumber sandwiches
and egg sandwiches. In Britain the construction of a sandwich is much simpler than here in
the US - it is: slice of bread, butter, filling, butter, slice of bread. At the `best'
garden parties such sandwiches will have had the crusts removed and be cut into little
triangles. Many hundreds of these will be consumed hence `The Great Cucumber Massacre'
sub-title. (Taken from Jeroen Schipper’s FAQ on the Web Online)
In addition to the pun on ‘cucumber’, I’m told that a cumber is the band of cloth sometimes worn around the waist when wearing a dinner jacket, although I can’t find any references to back this up.
‘Cam’
The River Cam is a 64km feeder tributary of the River Ouse which flows through Cambridge.
The Ouse flows into the Wash at King’s Lynn in Norfolk.
‘swallows’
Swallows are migratory birds which return to Northern Europe in the late Spring and
Summer. This is the season of the Garden Party. There is an expression, ‘One Swallow
does not make a spring. ’
‘Straafed’
Brewer’s:(Ger. Strafen, to punish) A word borrowed in good
humoured contempt from the Germans during WWI. One of their favourite slogans was
‘Gott strafe England!’ The word applied to any sharp and sudden bombardment, and
also used by Americans in W. W. II for the machine gunning of troops or civilians by low
flying aircraft.
‘Strauss’
Pear’s Cyclopedia: Strauss. Family of Viennese musicians.
Johann Strauss (1804-49) the Elder, was a composer of dance music, who with Joseph Lanner
established the Viennese Waltz tradition. His son, Johann Strauss (1825-99) the Younger,
although not so good a violinist as his father, was the composer of over 400 waltzes
including ‘The Blue Danube’ and ‘Tales from the Viennese Woods’
It is unlikely that the song refers to Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949) who was the composer of symphonic operas and poems, especially given the feel of the song.
‘Eaves’
Geoff Parks said: Eaves are the part of the roof that hangs over the
wall. The area underneath the eaves is called the eavesdrop. (Taken from Jeroen
Schipper’s FAQ on the Web Online)
‘Chaucer’
Pears Cyclopeadia: Geoffrey Chaucer (1340? - 1400) English poet. His
main work, ‘The Canterbury Tales’, gives a vivid picture of contemporary life.
(Cp. CINDERELLA SEARCH for more information about
Chaucer. )
‘Punting’
Geoff Parks said: `Punting' is a leisure pursuit. A punt is long
shallow rectangular boat. This is propelled along the river by standing at one end with a
long pole which one pushes against the river bed. It takes quite a bit of practice to get
the thing to go in a straight line. Usually a bunch of friends go punting. Each takes a
turn doing the `driving'. The others sit in the punt talking, drinking, trying to catch
ducks etc. On a nice day and in the right company it is actually quite a pleasant way to
while away the hours. (Taken from Jeroen Schipper’s FAQ on the Web Online)
‘Beagling'
Geoff Parks said: Beagling is a low budget version of fox-hunting. A
beagle is a type of dog similar to a fox hound. To go beagling one assembles a pack of
these dogs and a bunch of hunters (on foot) and sets off across the fields in search of a
hare, rabbit or some similarly inoffensive creature. (Taken from Jeroen
Schipper’s FAQ on the Web Online)
‘I’m miming’
For the single release, the naughty word was replaced with ‘miming’. It was
rather unclear until Fish appeared on Top of the Pops, the UK's long running chart show.
At the point where he ought to be saying the broadcastable ‘miming’ he shut his
mouth and merely pointed at his lips!
‘Rugger’
Geoff Parks said: Another name for rugby (the game). The two most
important sports played in Cambridge are rowing and rugby. University sport in Britain has
nowhere near the status it does in the US but the annual rowing and rugby contests between
Oxford and Cambridge (the Boat Race and the Varsity Match) are televised nationally.
`Rugger is the tops' simply means `rugby is the most enjoyable sport'. Incidentally, the
term `rucking' which appears in the song is a technical term from rugby. (Taken
from Jeroen Schipper’s FAQ on the Web Online)
‘parson'
A relatively lowly order in the Church of England. See Steve Rothery in the video to make
more sense of this!
‘chalks another blue’
Geoff Parks said: A `blue' is a sporting honour. To obtain a blue
you have to represent Cambridge University against Oxford in a major sport. You could be
in the team all year but if you miss the Oxford game due to injury you don't get your
blue. The major sports are rowing, rugby, football (a.k.a. soccer), cricket, (field)
hockey, boxing + perhaps one or two others. If you represent the university in a minor
sport (e.g.. tennis, squash, badminton, ice hockey, basketball. . . ) you get a
`half-blue'. Receiving a blue entitles you to numerous privileges, such wearing a hideous
light blue blazer (dark blue at Oxford), and gives you considerable status amongst those
who consider athletics more important than academics. (Taken from Jeroen
Schipper’s FAQ on the Web Online)
Paul Irvine said: There is a simpler explanation. Here in England someone who is somehow connected with the royal family, or a Lord, Peer, etc. , is said to be "blue blooded". Hence "blue" from the song. (Taken from Jeroen Schipper’s FAQ on the Web Online)
'Society columns'
These are gossip pages found in the newspapers and are lists of which well-connected,
well-bred or well-moneyed people is seeing who. It’s tittle tattle - one such is
Nigel Dempster in the Daily Mail. I’ll paraphrase so you get the idea; “Sources
tell me that my good friend and confident Baron Haddington has been seen with the eligible
young Lady Nina of Berlin. I wonder if I shall be buying them a wedding gift soon?”
It’s all to do with who’s in favour and who’s out.
Sources:
Last Modified: 27 Jul 2000